Why Adelaide?
by Amelia McDermid
Summary: Donna and the Doctor land in modern day Adelaide while following a distress signal. Who or what is making the signal and who is the old friend who shows up? They also meet a new friend who thinks that she is going crazy. Please R
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who as it is owned by the BBC**

* * *

Prologue

Claire Harper looked at her watch. It was half past three on a sunny Monday afternoon and she was standing outside Borders. She glanced over at the two shiny silver balls and saw some Japanese tourists taking pictures with their very expensive digital cameras. It was just a typical day in the city of Adelaide and it felt like the perfect time to go home to the house that she lived in with her two best mates.

_I'm dying for a coffee_ she thought as to try to distract her from any discouraging thoughts. She walked into Borders and grabbed herself a coffee from Gloria Jeans. As she walked back across Rundle Mall she looked up at the sky and thought about how it was just a regular Monday afternoon in the city

Or was it?

* * *

"Why are we getting a distress signal?" Donna Noble asked, well it was more like a scream coming from her.

"I have no idea" The Doctor answered her

"Do you know where it is coming from?"

"Well the TARDIS is telling me it's not coming from Britain, strange I was so looking forward to taking you to Hyrathon for a holiday. It seems that we have to follow the signal" The Doctor smiled.

"So we are going to the middle of no where, great I was looking forward to a holiday. It better be a good place, mister"

"Well I can't guarantee it, as the signal could be coming from anywhere in the universe, but mind you it does seem to be coming from Earth"

"And why is that a good thing?" Donna asked him

"Well it will be great to see the human race in a different country, now where could it be coming from America? France? Or even Australia? Come to think of it would be nice to visit the great land down under"

"Ok, we could just follow it then, I'm sick of your ranting"

"Alright" The Doctor smiled and flicked the lever and the TARDIS lunged into a race to find the distress signal.

* * *

Captain Jack Harkness looked at his watch. It seemed to glow a reddish colour. _Mauve_ he thought, _was that the colour_. Yes but why was it glowing when it didn't even work anymore. _Oh god, a distress signal, in the middle of Adelaide? Or is it me who is giving it off?" _He thought as he started to walk across the mall towards the balls. _No that's impossible, I can't be it hasn't worked since I left the Doctor, nice arse, not again, ok focus._

"Are you alright?" the girl with the nice arse asked him


	2. Meeting the Doctor

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who as it is owned by the BBC

* * *

****Chapter One**

**Meeting the Doctor**

The Doctor was the first one to step out of the TARDIS. _Well it seems to be earth _he thought as he looked up the side street where they had landed. The side street seemed to lead up to a paved walkway that was familiar to him but didn't seem to register in his brain.

"Where are we?" Donna asked as she too stepped out of the TARDIS. She looked at the Doctor as to say _if we are anywhere dangerous..._

"Don't know, but it is Earth" The Doctor assured her, "It's just I don't know what country" he added in a puzzled manner

"Just one question, will anyone see the TARDIS if we leave it here?" Donna asked suddenly distracting the Doctor from his thoughts.

"No one usually does, they just walk by it" The Doctor answered.

Just as he spoke two girls appeared, they seemed to be in their late teens. One was holding a cup of coffee while the other was talking enthusiastically about something that he couldn't really make out but assumed to be about a boyfriend because of her age.

* * *

"Let me get this straight, his watch was glowing?" Claire asked her friend Kate after she finished her story

"Yeah, but that wasn't what got my attention" Kate answered with a smile, that cheeky smile she possessed when she was talking about a cute guy

* * *

The Doctor smiled as he listened to the conversation. As far as he could tell, this girl was obviously a boy crazy teenager while the other who was blonde and wearing glasses seemed to roll her eyes and laughed when she thought it was appropriate. _God why did she have to be blonde? _He thought as his mind turned to Rose and how she was stuck in a parallel universe. _Well at least she is with family. _He kept watching them as he was interested to know where they were like the girls might drop a reference or clue but the brunette kept talking about the guy that she met down the mall, until

"Have you heard Damien Leith's new album?" the blonde asked

_Damien Leith, the winner of a certain reality program, but which one I wonder? It's wasn't Big Brother because...well...no can't be it. I remember that he is Irish and became a citizen in what was it? It definitely wasn't Britain as I don't remember him on Pop Idol. I also remember he wrote a book...wait a minute that's it Australian Idol, blimey the blonde has an Australian accent._

"Donna, I've figured out where we are! The great land down under!" The doctor shouted enthusiastically

The girls turned to see a strange man dancing around with a gingered haired woman who seemed to be embarrassed about her friend's sudden outburst

"Um Doctor I know it might be exciting an all BUT THE TWO GIRLS ARE LOOKING AT US" Donna yelled

"Steady on, it's exciting to be Australia; the prospect that I don't just visit Britain might surprise you. Sorry by the way, I'm just an excited tourist"

* * *

Kate and Claire just looked at each other, it was surprise to see a tourist get that excited about Australia, let alone Adelaide but to them it seemed that he didn't know that he was. It was like he just learnt where he was.

"Ok Claire, I feel like going to the museum, wanna come?" Kate asked her with the intention of walking away from this strange man.

"No, I'm going to see if they want any help" Claire told her and started to walk up to the man in the brown trench coat which seemed to be over a pinstriped suit.

"Claire please he could be um..."

"What?"

"Nothing, I'll see you later"

Kate turned and went up the street towards North Terrace thinking about the man as she went. _Who is he? Is he really a tourist? Hope Claire is ok. _

* * *

"Excuse me, do you need any help?" Claire asked the strange man and woman as she walked up to them

"Yes, you see, we seem to be lost, I know this is Australia, but can you tell me where we are?" the man asked her

"Ok, well we are in a side street which leads back to Rundle Mall" Claire answered

"Rundle Mall, where have I heard that name? Well I seem to recall two silver balls which act as a meeting place for you humans, but what city is Rundle Mall located, Sydney? Melbourne? That's it the City of Churches...um"

"Adelaide?" Claire asked

"Yes, Adelaide, the home of the 2018 Commonwealth Games" The man shouted

_Ok _Claire thought _Calm down, he seems friendly like I can trust him but who is he and how did he come here if he didn't come by taxi, oh well just ask him and his friend their names, go on!_

"Sorry I didn't catch your names" Claire told him

"I'm the Doctor and this is Donna Noble"

"Doctor Who?"

"Just the Doctor, and also I don't think I caught your name either"

"Sorry, I'm Claire Harper"

"Nice to meet you, Claire Harper"

"Would you both like to come and have something to eat, I was just going to the Myer Centre food court"

"We love to; it would be great to see the sights of Adelaide"

So Donna and the Doctor followed Claire into the Myer centre and made their way to the food court. _Why am I being so nice to them? _Claire thought as she stood on the escalator.


	3. Torchwood

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who as it is owned by the BBC.

* * *

****Chapter Two**

**Torchwood**

Captain Jack Harkness looked at the glass door and saw that familiar symbol which graced his computer screen. Beneath it were the words Oz Torchwood Institute, 50 years of Research. _More like 50 years of defending Australia against the unknown _he thought as he opened the door into the lobby. The lobby was completely white with a desk which faced you when you walked in. At the desk was a girl who seemed to be in her late twenties at a computer. She looked up when Jack walked over to the desk.

"Can I help you Captain?" she asked him

"Yeah, is James in?" he answered

"Mr Harwell is in a meeting, but..."

"No, I'm was talking about James Smith"

"Sorry, yeah he's in the basement"

"Of course, fancy a drink later?"

"Captain, you know I'm not allowed to socialise"

Jack thanked the girl and walked across to the elevator. While he was waiting, his thoughts turned to how a simple British institute ended up on Australia's doorstep.

* * *

Of course Torchwood was established in 1879 after Queen Victoria visited Torchwood Manor located in Scotland. This manor was said to have been attacked by a werewolf. Queen Victoria of course was saved by the mysterious Doctor and his companion Rose Tyler. He was knighted and banished from the empire. Queen Victoria set up the institute in honour of Torchwood manor to protect The British Empire from aliens and the unknown. In 2007 Torchwood one was closed down after the Battle of Canary Wharf. After that Torchwood was rebuilt by Captain Jack Harkness in honour of The Doctor who still to this day is their number one enemy.

Torchwood was established in Australia in 1958 after a spaceship landed in the western suburbs of Sydney. It was broken up into five institutes in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth. Adelaide was the home of Torchwood three and seemed to have their fair share of alien encounters in recent times. But the one thing that drives them is the hope of meeting the mysterious Doctor.

Jack was in Adelaide as two months ago one of Oz Torchwood's men went missing after a mission went horribly wrong. One month after that people started disappearing from the magistrate's court. Torchwood was still refusing to tell him what was in the court apart from the obvious as they just wanted him there to figure out if it was connected. So far he hadn't seen any obvious connection but it was still early days.

* * *

"Hello Jack" James Smith smiled when Jack stepped out of the elevator

"Ah James, just the person I wanted to see" Jack said as he embraced him with a little touch of the bottom

"Jack, what I tell you?"

"Not to touch it when it's a business call"

"That's right! Still up for tonight?" James asked him

"As always"

Jack smiled as he let go of James and saw him walk back to his office. Jack followed close behind trying not to look at his rear end as he walked.

"How can I help you?" James asked him

"Ok, I was walking in the mall, when my watch started to glow red, see?" Jack said as he held up his watch.

"Oh, you're getting a distress signal!" James cried

"Thanks, that's all I wanted to know"

James smiled and walked over to Jack. When both of them had started their fling, he knew that Jack had someone at home that he loved; he knew that he was just a distraction that Jack's eyes could wander. _Ianto, the tea boy _he thought

"So Jack what do you want to do?" James asked him

"Well..."

"It's just we've just received word that a strange blue box as turned up in a side street, and Mr Harwell wants you to investigate as there isn't a camera there"

"A blue box?" Jack asked him but before James could answer, Jack had disappeared into the elevator

_It can't be him or is it. Jack calm down this is the Doctor, the one person who can help you with your investigation. Who could he be travelling with now I wonder? Martha of course is now with us at Torchwood so it will be interesting to see. I'm coming Doctor, please be happy to see me!_


	4. Getting to Know Each Other

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who as it is owned by the BBC

* * *

****Chapter three**

**Getting to know each other**

"These chips are gorgeous" the Doctor cried enthusiastically as he reached for another chip

"There only from KFC" Claire told him then added "It's the only thing they do right according to my friends"

The Doctor, Donna and Claire were sitting in the Myer Centre food court eating two large boxes of chips from KFC. Claire had decided to pay for them of course as she had that feeling that the Doctor didn't have any money.

"So Claire, tell us a little about yourself" The Doctor asked

Claire sat there and didn't know what to say. She did of course trust them both but was still was a little cautious as she still wasn't sure who both of them were. _Ok Claire just calm down you can do this. _

"I'm eighteen years old, my parents died when I was thirteen, I live with my two best friends being my older sister Kerri and her fiancé Sean, and he's Irish. Kerri's twenty nine so she's always been there for me and my older brother Michael. I'm currently in TAFE studying for an Advance Diploma in Professional Writing as I would like to be a script writer or an author of Sci-Fi novels"

Claire paused to see the Doctor. He seemed to be very interested in what she wanted to say, so she continued

"Also I have two other best friends, Kate Morgan, who you saw in the side street and Ryan Davies, who's a very smart eighteen year old. That's pretty much it I'm afraid"

"No that's good, I'm sorry about your parents though" The Doctor told her

"I'm ok, already over it, but there still with me" Claire smiled and reached for another chip.

"So what about you then?" she asked the Doctor

"Really it's not much to tell, I travel around here and there with my trusty companion" he pointed to Donna

"What about you Donna?" Claire asked

"Well I'm from London, used to be a temporary secretary for the security firm H.C. Clements. My parents Geoff and Sylvia are still alive. Was engaged to a man called Lance but he turned out to be a jerk, I met the Doctor on my wedding day on Christmas Day, didn't start travelling with him then but after an emergency in London I decided to travel with him you know to see the world" Donna told her

Claire smiled, Donna seemed to be nice but from earlier it seemed that she could have a temper and could scream at the top of her lungs. Donna seemed to be the type of person who could drive you nuts but if you really got to know her then she wouldn't seem that annoying after all.

"Sorry, if I'm being rude, but why are you here in Adelaide?" Claire asked the Doctor suddenly

"We're following a distress signal" The doctor said proudly

"A distress signal here...In Adelaide?"

Claire took another chip and looked into the Doctor's eyes; there was something about those two that didn't seem to add up. Donna meeting the Doctor on her wedding day, like that happened on purpose it just didn't seem right. She remembered reading in the paper that there was some kind of emergency in London but she didn't know what. Her thoughts turned to Torchwood that strange research Institute that was like the CSIRO but there was something about it that also didn't seem right especially when those people started disappearing about a month ago. Her friend Ryan always told her that maybe Torchwood was really like Area 51 and researched alien life forms, but she always dismissed them as it sounded like the old TV show, The X Files.

"Are you an alien?" She suddenly asked him which seemed to shock him

"What makes you say that?" The Doctor asked still shocked about her sudden question

"Well, the distress signal, that strange blue box I dismissed while talking to you, you travelling without money (what tourist would do that) and the fact you met Donna on her wedding day"

The Doctor looked at her and smiled, she did seem to be smart after all and it wasn't like he ever doubted her. When he had first saw her, he thought that she seemed to have an open mind about things, might be intelligent and seemed to be aware of what was going on in the world. It was like he could trust her as he felt that she might be a very friendly girl but might be a little bit shy.

"Yeah, I am an alien, a Time Lord to be exact" The Doctor told her

Claire smiled and started to laugh. The Doctor and Donna looked at her.

"What's so funny?"

"I didn't actually think I was right, I just had that feeling, you know that you were different" Claire smiled and grabbed another chip.

"Well, Donna here is human, the first time I met her, she was affected with Huon particles, imagine that, she was snatched from the church by my strange blue box" The Doctor told her with a grin

"So your strange blue box must contain these particles then?" Claire asked

"Good lord, you don't miss a beat do you?"

"Ok about this distress signal..." before Claire could continue, a sound was coming from her pocket it seemed to be a familiar tune, like from that British car show that everyone seemed to talk about.

"Sorry that's my phone" Claire told them and she dug into her pocket and took out her phone, it was a Motorola and seemed to be the latest model.

"Hello...hi Kate...no I'm in the food court...what...where...ok I'll be there"

"That was my friend, she wants to show me something, and um it was nice to have met you" She told them

"Sure you don't what us to come with you?" The Doctor asked her

"It's ok, I'm sure it's nothing to special, probably some nice looking bloke" Claire said good bye and ran out of the food court.

"So Doctor what you want to do now? Donna asked him

"Let's get back to the TARDIS and see if we can track down that distress signal" The Doctor answered.

So they headed back to the TARDIS and noticed that there was someone waiting for them. The Doctor smiled when he saw the familiar tall man in a Navy blue military jacket.

"Hello Captain"


	5. Hellos and memories

**Diclaimer: I do not own Doctor who as it is owned by the BBC

* * *

****Chapter Four**

**Hellos and memories**

"Doctor, it's so great to see you" Jack stretched out his hand and shook's the Doctor's. He was Donna who seemed to stare at him like _who are you mister?_

"I'm Captain Jack Harkness, and who are you? Pretty lady"

"Jack!"

"I'm just saying hello"

"I'm Donna Noble and if you touch me there will hell to pay"

Jack smiled and turned back to the Doctor. It had been a while since he last saw him, the 'lost year' that he spent with the Master, Martha Jones saving the day by using the Archangel Network. He had decided to stay in Cardiff with his team and not travel with the Doctor as he had grown to love his team. He did want to travel with the Doctor again to see the universe and its wonders as he knew that the Doctor could take them home twelve hours after they left.

"Where did you pick this one up, she's a bit feisty" Jack asked

"London, she can drive you nuts, but she's worth it" the Doctor smiled

"Also, a certain Miss Martha Jones would be happy to see you; she's now working for Torchwood"

"Martha Jones! Defender of Cardiff, you must be proud" The Doctor smiled. He hadn't seen Martha since she had decided to leave to be with her family. She also left as she had liked him but he hadn't paid attention to those feelings. He did like Martha Jones and was sad when she left but he was pleased that she had gone on with her life.

He seemed to snap out of it as he noticed that Jack's vortex manipulator seemed to glow that reddish colour of mauve. The manipulator hadn't worked since he had stopped it with his sonic screwdriver as he didn't want Jack using it anymore.

"So you're getting it to then?"

"Getting what?"

"The distress signal, that's what brought us here in the first place" The Doctor told him

"Oh, it started doing that this afternoon, I think like an half an hour ago" Jack told him, paused then added "I thought it was me until I checked with a mate of mine"

"Oh well, we were just heading into the TARDIS to see if it can work out where the signal is coming from, do you...I don't know...want to come inside?" The Doctor asked him with a grin

Jack nodded as The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS and they all followed him inside. Jack smiled as he looked around the interior. He had missed travelling with the Doctor and Rose when he had first met her. She was such a wonderful girl and as he had said to her last time she was worth fighting for. He was sad when he had read that she had presumably been killed at the Battle of Canary Wharf but after the Doctor had told him that she was in a parallel universe with her family he had felt better. Now he was travelling with a ginger haired woman who seemed ok but somehow he felt that she could have a temper.

"I should tell you, I've already met a local" The Doctor told Jack as he closed the door.

"Ok where is she then?"

The Doctor looked with him in a puzzled manner as to say how would he possibly know that he had met a woman.

"Doctor, knowing you, the women always seem to trust you" Jack explained when he saw his puzzled face.

"She went to meet up with a friend, wanted to show her something apparently" The Doctor smiled and looked at the TARDIS' main screen.

_I wonder what was so important for her to leave the Doctor. _Jack thought as he walked to the screen to see what he as looking at.


	6. Danger for the Doctor

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who as it is owned by the BBC

* * *

****Chapter Five**

**Danger for the Doctor**

"What is so important?" Claire asked Kate as she ran up to her "I had to leave the Doctor to fend for himself" She added

"Is that his name? The Doctor? Doctor Who?" Kate asked in a puzzled manner, her face seemed to say it all

"Just the Doctor, anyway what's the problem?"

"Yeah, there that strange van again, the one I told you about" Kate pointed to across the road to a strange black van with the words Torchwood written on the side

"It's just Torchwood, they're probably doing some research" Claire told her calmly

"You don't get it, they're more than a research institute, Ryan finally found some evidence that they research alien life forms abut they also use their technology to defend the country" Kate told her, her worried face staring into Claire's eyes

"I don't why, but I believe you, I can't explain why but we have to go back to the Doctor" Claire smiled and grabbed her hand

"Is he a..."

"Yeah, we have to warn him"

"Before we go, there's more at the Court"

"How do you know that?"

"Ryan, he's in the city, he rang me a few minutes ago"

Claire just smiled and started to run with Kate running beside her. They ran to the side street where they both had first seen the Doctor, getting excited about the prospect of being in Australia. All they saw was the strange, big blue box with the words 'Police Box' written at the top.

_Where is he? _Claire thought _I knew that if I left him he might go back to his strange blue box to I don't know find that distress signal_

"You forgot to tell you before that I saw that big blue box thing" Kate told her

"I saw it to but I dismissed it" Claire told her back

"So where is he then?"

They both looked at the box and didn't know what to do. They weren't sure if they should knock on the door just in case he was inside. They stood there for a couple of minutes until they heard a voice behind them.

"And what do you think you're doing?"


	7. Nowhere to Run

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who as it is owned by the BBC

* * *

****Chapter Six**

**Nowhere to Run**

"James Smith?" Claire looked him with disbelief. The last time she had seen him was in their last year of high school when he had told her that he had been accepted into an apprenticeship with Torchwood because of his brains and knowledge of computers and security systems. With the knowledge she had now about Torchwood it seemed now that he also had excellent knowledge of alien life forms and technology.

"Claire Harper and Kate Morgan, what a lovely surprise"

"Save it James, I know you work for an alien research Institute" Claire yelled at him and gave him her loveliest smile.

"Well, you wouldn't know that box belongs to the British Empire's number one enemy" James smiled back

"Hang on, there isn't an empire it called the Commonwealth" Kate blurted out surprising Claire

"I know but, Torchwood still holds on to old British attitudes but maintains a modern image" James told them proudly

"It still doesn't give you the right to steal alien artefacts" Kate yelled

"Well, if it's alien, it's ours that the Torchwood motto" James smiled and produced a gun "and there is nothing that you can do about it"

* * *

While inside the TARDIS the Doctor looked at the screen puzzled at what it was telling him. It seemed that the distress signal was coming from outside, how could that be possible? He didn't remember seeing any alien life forms outside near the Myer Centre. _Odd maybe there is something wrong, no double checked right._

"Why are you giving me a mobile number?" The Doctor said aloud as he scratched the back of his neck

Jack smiled "It seems the distress signal is a mobile phone, or is coming from one" he kept smiling amused that the Doctor hadn't figured it out

"Um excuse me, but how can a mobile phone be a distress signal?" Donna asked from the other side of the control panel

"I wouldn't have a clue, but it's not the first time I've been puzzled. I might be a genius but that doesn't mean I know everything" The Doctor smiled and walked over to the phone that could call anywhere in the universe.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO CALL IT?" Donna yelled

"Relax Donna; well come to think of it I'm sure who is going to pick up" The Doctor smiled and picked the phone. "Jack can you read the number to me please"

"Of course Doctor, 0432378945" Jack told him

The Doctor dialled the number and waited for it to answer.


	8. The Distress Signal

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor who as it owned by the BBC. Well except for my OC. **

**Also it's raining in Adelaide which is great.

* * *

****Chapter Seven**

**The distress signal**

"Come on James, we are your friends" Kate tried to calm him down.

"You were my friends, but I found a new interest..." James began to speak but was interrupted by a noise coming from one of the girls. Kate looked at Claire as to say _what the hell are you doing?_ Claire stood there and didn't know what to do. _Who would want to speak to me now at such a bad time too?_

Claire dug in her pocket and grabbed her phone to see the words TARDIS calling on the screen. _What the hell is TARDIS? _She thought as she answered the phone _"I'll tell that telemarketer!" _

"Hello, this is Claire Harper speaking"

* * *

Inside the TARDIS, The Doctor was looking at Jack and Donna, who had moved to be long side Jack. He put his hand on the speaker and smiled

"It's the local I was telling you about"

"Claire Harper?" Donna asked astounded "Her phone is a distress signal, why didn't she tell us?

"Don't jump to conclusions, Donna wasn't it? She might not know or..." Jack told her

The Doctor continued

"Hello Claire, fancy hearing from you, brilliant!" The Doctor smiled

"Doctor?" Claire couldn't believe it, so that blue box thing was called a TARDIS so that means he must be inside with Donna. But wait how did he get her number?

"Give that phone to me now!" James yelled

"Um Doctor, we are just outside your strange blue box, how did you get my number?" Claire continued ignoring James, even if he had a gun he was still that boy that decided to shock everyone by kissing her best friend Ryan who at the time was a little open minded. He would latch on to any boy who had a girlfriend and promised him the world. It was a good thing that most of these boys had open minds but it was still a shock to every girl that this odd boy could be so...selfish.

"Come on Claire, give me that phone, I want to speak to the Doctor" James wailed. He always remembered Claire as the girl with the open mind. She was like him, except that he was gay and she was he called bi-curious even though she might not actually done anything. She always seemed to look at the girls but was still interested in the boys.

"My phone is your distress signal? Kate what did Ryan do to my phone?"

"I pimp it up" said a voice from behind them

"Ryan?"

"Sorry what's going on out there?"The Doctor asked her

"Kate and I have got a gun pointing at us by an old friend, who works for Torchwood, Ryan is behind us" Claire answered

The Doctor looked at Jack. Jack smiled and seemed to know what he was puzzled about.

"Australia has their own Torchwood branch, the problem is that they are the same as what the British Torchwood used to be, so you are their number one enemy" Jack told him paused then added "It's been around since 1958, it disguises itself as a scientific Institute so that's why Claire would know about it"

Then the Doctor heard a scream from the phone, what had happened? _Oh no I've killed her_


	9. The Explanation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who as it is owned by The BBC.****

* * *

****Chapter Eight**

**The Explanation **

"Doctor, are you still there?" said a voice

"Claire?"

"Yeah, it's me, are you alright?"

"I heard a scream..."

"From an 18 year old male who had just been kicked in the groin by a girl" Claire finished paused for a few seconds as she had started laughing then added "Kate does karate and I decided to hold my phone out so you could hear it"

"Don't scare me like that, I thought..."

"Doctor, if I can interrupt, I want to talk to her for a moment" Jack smiled and held out his hand. The Doctor looked at him "Alright but don't scare her"

"Hello, this is Captain Jack Harkness" He said with his cheesy grin

Claire turned to face Ryan who had seemed to be in a laughing fit. She smiled as she realised that she was sharing this moment with her two best friends. She still had the phone to her ear and didn't seem to know if she should respond to this Captain Jack Harkness but decided to anyway.

"Um ok, what do you want?" Claire asked

"The eighteen year old male, does he have short brown hair, wears glasses and goes by the name James Smith?"

"Yeah, he's on the ground moaning. Why?"

"I know him; I work for Torchwood in Cardiff, the British branch, It was rebuilt, listen, I know him as I am sleeping with him"

Donna turned to face him, what the hell was he talking about? He certainly didn't look gay with his Navy coat and stunning good looks but her mother always told her that the perfect man was either gay or married.

"Promised you the world, did he?" Claire didn't sound fazed

"Yeah, he did..."

He was interrupted by the noise of the Doctor opening the doors of the TARDIS as he wanted have a look at the boy who had seemed to catch Jack's attention. He started to continue but soon realised that she had already gone. He put the phone back on its cradle and followed Donna and the Doctor.

"Hey" Claire said as the Doctor embraced her surprising her a bit as she had never been hugged by a complete stranger before. She was also embraced by Donna who seemed a little pleased to see her.

"I know you, you're the guy with the glowing watch" Kate said as Jack stepped out of the TARDIS. She walked over to him and WHACK slapped him on the face.

"Ow, what was that for?" Jack asked her rubbing his face.

"Don't think I didn't notice you staring at my butt" Kate smiled and walked back to be along side Claire.

"Hang on, I heard him say that he slept with that kid over there" Donna explained

"Donna, I think that he must be a bit flexible when he comes to partners" Claire told her "Oh by the way, this is Ryan Davies (she pointed to a boy who was tall with brown hair, glasses and wearing a Red Hot Chilli Pepper T-shirt) and the girl who slapped Jack is Kate Morgan"

The Doctor walked over to Ryan and shook his hand. He had no idea who he was as Claire had not introduced him.

"Oh Sorry" Claire had seen Ryan's puzzled face "Ryan, Kate, this is the Doctor and his companion Donna Noble"

Ryan looked gobsmacked. The Doctor! Torchwood's number one enemy. _Here in Adelaide? Impossible this cannot be right_

"Now young man, you have some explaining to do" The Doctor smiled at Ryan

So Ryan told them about why Claire's phone was giving off the distress signal. Apparently a month ago Torchwood put out on the market a mobile phone security kit, he decided to buy the kit for Claire. Claire had asked him to install it for him as it was a computer program but he had found out that the kit was more than just normal security. He found out that it contained a program of an alien distress signal. He hadn't told Claire as he thought that she wouldn't believe him.

"Well, now I do, as the Doctor here is a Time Lord" Claire smiled and hugged her friend then she turned to the Doctor and said "Well I now know that your strange blue box is called a TARDIS"

"What? Your phone should have said private number"

"It didn't, I thought it might have been a company, hey..."

The Doctor had grabbed her phone off her and started to scan it with a strange device that she had seen before. Ryan had made it while drunk one night. He apparently had gotten the plans from the Torchwood website after he had hacked into the secret parts of the website. She didn't know what it was called as it didn't actually have a name according to the website.

"What the hell is that?" Claire asked

"It's a sonic screwdriver, it's great for everyday use and it can open doors..."

"Were you drunk when you made this?"

"No, just bored why?"

"Ryan made one; you can get the plans from the Torchwood website, while drunk one night" Claire smiled.

The Doctor handed back her phone "Brilliant, your phone can call anyone in the universe, how cool is that"

But all Claire could do was just look at him and didn't know what to say until she heard a voice from the ground

"Jack, what a lovely surprise"


	10. What to do with James?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who as it is owned by the BBC**

**I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and very safe New Year.****

* * *

****Chapter Nine**

**What to do with James?**

Claire turned to look at James, she had forgotten about him after the Doctor had opened the door of the TARDIS. He was still groaning but seemed to be in a lot of pain. He was looking at Jack with the eyes of lust which she always saw when he was talking to a boy that he had a crush on.

"Hello James, I see that you tried to kill a citizen", Jack smiled as he walked over to him and picked him up. With a quick kiss on the lips he let him go from the embrace and slapped him on the cheek.

"What the hell are you doing?" Claire asked him shocked that he did that to him

"Excuse me, he was going to kill you" Jack snapped astonished that she was protecting him

"It's not a real gun, that's why Kate kicked him in the groin, besides I've known him since high school he can be a right selfish bastard but I know what it was like to be alone after my parents died", Claire smiled and started to kiss James on the lips. _Pay back time _she thought as she pulled herself away.

Jack looked at her. He thought back to when he had those conversations with James about family. James' family had died in a car crash when he was eight years old. He came out to his grandparents when he was sixteen years old and wasn't kicked out, which was a first as he had thought they would start hating him. James had also talked about how it felt to meet another person who knew what it was like to lose their parents but also knew what it was like to be confused about your sexuality. He remembered that James told him that it was a girl who was bi-curious but didn't seem to want to tell anyone, including her friends until she was absolutely sure. She ended up telling her friends which really disappointed him. Now he knew that this girl was the person who was kissing James in front of him.

"You didn't slap him, how disappointing" Jack told her

"Ah, you must be the Doctor, I followed Jack here to see if it was really you" James said to the Doctor who had moved up next to Claire.

"Yeah, I am the Doctor; I've dealt with Torchwood before and let me tell you I will never let myself to be associated with you" The Doctor said angrily and pointed the sonic screwdriver at him.

"Doctor, I know how to get rid of him" Jack told him

"Ah, Jack, what about you tell everyone why you're here" James smiled

The Doctor looked at Jack and realised that he never asked him what he was doing here in Adelaide. He was just happy to see him as he always happy to see any old friends that popped up in the strangest of places.

"It doesn't matter, why I'm here, in my backpack is a tablet called a retcon, it will erase his memory. I can also give him a sleeping pill" Jack whispered to the Doctor and Claire.

"Do you want a drink?" Jack asked when he got the Doctor's approval


	11. Later that night

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who as it is owned by the BBC and is wonderfully written by Russell T Davies and the rest of the Doctor Who writing team. David Tennant is also wonderful as the Tenth Doctor.**

**Also this is nearly finished but more is yet to come...**

**more about that soon

* * *

****Chapter Ten**

**Later that night**

Claire, Ryan and Kate were sitting at a table in McDonalds eating their dinner. It had been two hours since they had left the Doctor, Donna and Jack to deal with James. Jack had given the retcon to James in the TARDIS and had taken him back to Torchwood in his arms as he had fallen asleep because of the sleeping pill. Jack assured them that the only person that he wouldn't remember would be the Doctor.

The Doctor had also explained to Claire why her phone could call anyone in the universe as he reckoned that Torchwood were conducting an experiment to see if the public would find alien life forms for them so they could upgrade their security. Then Claire, Kate and Ryan had decided to leave the Doctor to it and thought that they had said their final farewells to the Doctor.

"That's great isn't it, I finally met the Doctor", Ryan smiled and grabbed another French fry. They weren't as good as KFC ones and also they had to call them fries instead of chips which to them wasn't as good as eating a nice fat KFC chip.

"Yeah, and kept it to yourself about knowing who he was, I forgive you though" Claire smiled and picked up her burger

"So why were you actually concerned about your phone being a distress signal?" Kate asked her

"That's why the Doctor came here, he followed the distress signal, come to think of it he never explained how the signal was let off" Claire sighed

"I think I know, when I was setting up the software to your phone, it told me that the signal would go off when you make a phone call" Ryan explained

"Oh, so when I rang Kate to ask her if she had finished her rehearsal, it let out the signal." Claire smiled and bit into her burger

"Yep, not bad to I might add"

"Yeah, but Torchwood got the report saying that there was a strange blue box in a side street" Kate said concerned

"So? James will now deny it, thanks to Jack, he won't remember a thing" Claire assured her

"I know, but what if he comes back?" Kate asked

Claire looked at her. She didn't think of that, but why would he? To her the Doctor was the sort of person who would visit, save the day, then move on like it never happened. She felt that she would never see him again and that she would now try to move on and step forward with her life. Maybe she should finally leave home and go find a place of her own.

"Want to see a movie afterwards?" Ryan asked them snapping Claire out of her thoughts

"Ok, you're choosing" Claire told him

"No, last time we saw the new Bond film, I hated it" Kate groaned

"Ok you choose then"

"I choose when we get there" Kate smiled and took another fry

_Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh_

"What the hell was that?" Claire asked

"What?"

"Shush, listen"

_Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh_

"That noise, probably the wind" Kate told her

"I don't think so" Claire said as she got up from the table

"Want to investigate?" Ryan asked them

Claire, Ryan and Kate left their table and ran out the door. They started to run in the direction of the noise and ended up in the same side street as before. There they saw a familiar strange blue box near the entrance of the Myer centre where it had first landed earlier that afternoon. The door opened and out stepped a man wearing a brown trench coat over a pin striped suit and red converse sneakers.

"Hello, Brilliant isn't it, Adelaide at night, can't wait to see it when it hosts the Commonwealth Games, even thought that's ten years away, Also I found out it's a week to Christmas so probably best to finish your Christmas shopping though, as Christmas Eve will be extra busy thanks to Torchwood..."

"Are you finished?" Claire asked him


	12. Two Days After Christmas

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who as it is owned by the BBC**

**There is one more chapter after this one

* * *

**

**Chapter Eleven**

**Two Days after Christmas**

_A choice can really change a person. It can be big or small, life threatening or life changing but it can show us for what we really are if we are ready for it or not. Nothing can prepare us for what we choose to make for our life __and so all we can do is live our lives to the best of our advantage. So Claire Harper! Go and see the world and live your life the way you want to! _

That was the last time Claire Harper had seen the Doctor, a week before Christmas, when she had discovered that her mobile phone was an alien detector, met Captain Jack Harkness and discovered about the real purpose of Torchwood, had kissed a gay, when she had met the Doctor and his companion Donna Noble but best of all her two best friends had been with her to witness the whole event.

Two days after she had said goodbye to the Doctor, it was her nineteenth birthday and she celebrated with her friends down at the local pub. Then five days later it was Christmas and the whole Harper/Williams family came over for Christmas lunch and dinner and singing voices could be heard outside as they all gathered around the karaoke machine singing carols and songs.

Now it was two days after Christmas and she wasn't with her family. Come to think of it she didn't really know where she was but she knew that she was safe as the designated driver was someone who she would trust. She just couldn't understand why the driver had to thump the wheel to make it work.


	13. Where to Claire Harper?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who as it is owned by the BBC**

**This is the last Chapter. I am planning to write a sequel of this and make it a series.

* * *

****Chapter Twelve**

**Where to Claire Harper?**

Nothing had prepared Claire to meet the Doctor again, she thought that she had said goodbye to him a week before Christmas. She was walking in the mall, happy as can be, hoping that she would spend some of the money and vouchers that she got for Christmas. No she hadn't expected to meet the Doctor again.

She had walked past the side street when she last seen him, Donna and the dashing Captain Jack Harkness. Nothing was there except shoppers coming out of the centre and a blue box but apart from that nothing. She stopped. Had she really seen that or was it just her imagination playing tricks with her? She kept walking trying to shake the image out of her head; she had just seen it out of the corner of her eye nothing more. She kept walking further down towards the balls to make a quick visit to David Jones to pick up a nice block of Michel Cluizel dark chocolate; it had been a suggestion by a friend from France.

"Hey where are you off to?" said a voice from behind her. Claire stopped she knew that voice, she last heard it about a week ago; she smiled as she turned to face the person who had spoken. He was still wearing his brown trench coat, pinstriped suit and red converse sneakers.

"Where are the others? Is Jack still with you?" She didn't know what else to say as she was so happy to see him

"Well Donna and Jack are back at the TARDIS, want to come to say hello?" the Doctor smiled, paused, then added "So you're now nineteen years old then?"

"Yeah, went to pub with my mates, sorry I'll love to come back to the TARDIS" Claire smiled and took his hand.

They walked back to the side street where Jack and Donna had stepped out of the TARDIS and were standing near the entrance. Jack smiled when he saw Claire and ran over to her.

"Hello stranger, I'm Captain Jack Harkness"

"Jack!"

"I'm just saying hello"

Claire shocked him by giving him a hug. He was taken back as he thought that she wouldn't be happy to see him.

"What?" Claire asked him. She had noticed his confusion

"Nothing"

"Hi Donna" Claire ran over to her and hugged her

After they said their hellos, Claire decided to tell them what she had discovered about her phone, how that she could turn off the distress signal when she was making a phone call. They all listened happily and then it was discovered that the TARDIS had decided to stay at the entrance after Claire and her friends had left them. They had of course had not seen the inside of the TARDIS as Kate had wanted to get to the cinema.

"We are only here for a quick visit, so would you like to come with us?" The Doctor asked her

"What? Like travel with you?"

"It will only be one trip though; just to say thanks for a week ago, so what do you say Claire Harper?"

"Ok, but is it dangerous?" Claire asked him

"It can be, but I'm here to protect you"

"All right if you say so"

The Doctor walked over to TARDIS and opened the door. Jack and Donna followed him in and they closed the door. Claire stood there a moment and looked around, hopefully she would see this all again soon. Then she opened the door and walked in, but few minutes later she was out again and running around the blue box. After she was satisfied that she wasn't seeing things, she ran back inside and closed the door.

"Welcome to the TARDIS, _Time and Relative Dimension in Space_ is what it stands for..."

"Sorry, you might get this a lot but it's bigger on the inside" Claire pointed out with a embarrassed smile

"That's the great thing about it, it keeps people guessing, and so where are we off to?" The Doctor asked him

"Somewhere where we can have a holiday" Donna told him

Claire smiled "I don't care as long as it's somewhere interesting"

"Well, this machine can go forwards and backwards in time so, you have a lot of choice, oh by the way I do have this little trick..." he pushed a button and a familiar song bellowed out

**So here it comes, the sounds the drums**

**Here come the drums, here come the drums**

"Voodoo Child by the Rogue Traders?"

"What? Aren't they Australian, I would pick something else..."

"No they are Australian; the lead singer is in Neighbours or was"

**Baby, Baby, Baby**

**You are my voodoo child, my voodoo child**

"My TARDIS picked it up after an encounter with an enemy, it was on his playlist"

But all Claire could think as the song played was about her strange encounter with this strange man. Of all the cities in Australia, Melbourne, Sydney and even Perth for that matter he had to land in Adelaide. All she could was _Why Adelaide?_


End file.
